My Wallet Isn't Going to be too Happy.

I feel kind of weird making a blog post about a new toy release, but this is a big deal.

So as of recent, my new goal in vinyl collecting is to snag a coveted KAWS piece. For those that don't know, Brooklyn based artist, KAWS (aka Brian Donnelly) is a huge figure in the contemporary art and urban grafitti scene. He creates his art through several different mediums, spanning from canvas, to ads, to toys, and even to lightbulbs. The problem with my quest for a KAWS piece is the ridiculous prices that these toys are sold for in the secondary market (i.e. eBay, forums, etc.). The only way to really avoid spending an arm and a leg for a toy is buy it on the release day.


So, the word going around right now is that KAWS is set to release his next Bape collaboration toy on February 26th, 2011. In lieu of his popular "dissected companion" toy, KAWS has adapted the same concept to the iconic Bape character "Milo." This piece is half monkey, and half anatomical sculpt of the innards of the monkey, split right down the middle.


Even if I can manage to purchase one on release day from KAWS's site kawsone.com, the price still verges on the level of expensive. At 15,540 Yen, the toy will cost approximately $186.00 USD. If someone would have told me a year ago that I would even contemplate dropping this much cash on a piece of plastic, I would've called them crazy. After doing much research, the initial cost of this piece does not turn me off as much. Even though the figure is close to $200 with shipping, other KAWS pieces with the same initial price point go for upwards of $650 on the secondary market. I do not plan to sell the piece, but if times get rough, at least I can make my money back, plus more.

The only dilemma I'm facing right now is if I can live with getting only one, or if I should shoot for the whole set. Unfortunately for me, getting the whole set would probably mean eating Ramen and bread for the rest of the month. Because I have tax refunds coming to me in the next few weeks as well as some overdue payments for past work I've done, I may pull the trigger on all three. Only time will tell. I am honestly just stoked to get my first ever KAWS piece!

Here's a few more views of the figure.